This invention relates to valances which are mounted on the headrails of venetian blinds and other window coverings. More particularly, this invention relates to systems and methods for mounting valances to headrails in an attractive, efficient and economic manner.
Window coverings such as venetian blinds typically include a headrail. Such headrails typically are U-shaped, with a generally horizontal bottom surface and generally vertical front and rear surfaces, each of which have an upper lip. Headrails are typically made from metal or another sturdy material in order to provide the structural integrity that is needed to suspend a venetian blind or other window covering. Headrails typically contain mechanisms for lifting and tilting the slats of the blind.
Venetian blinds are offered today in a broad spectrum of colors which allow the blinds to form an integral part of the design of a given room. The same, however, is not necessarily true of the headrails. Headrails often are available in only one or a small number of colors, and they generally do little to add to the aesthetic appeal of a blind; indeed, unadorned headrails may detract from the otherwise attractive appearance of a blind.
One popular solution to this problem has been the use of decorative valances which are mounted in front of the headrails in order to hide the headrails and provide an attractive look at the upper end of the window covering. Valances are typically provided in lengths which correspond to or which can be cut down to the width of a blind. Valances can be made of wood and may be milled into a variety of attractive cross-sectional shapes. They can also be made of extruded plastic. In either case, the valances can be given any desired color to match or coordinate with the color of the slats of the blind or other window covering material, or another color desired by the customer.
It is necessary, of course, to mount the valances on the headrail of the blind. To that end, a number of approaches have evolved, leading to a variety of existing mounting brackets and systems. A typical simple valance mounting bracket is made from a single piece of plastic. It will have a downwardly extending arm which slips over the upper lip of the front wall of the headrail. It will also have upper and lower extensions, one which extends over the top of the valance and then slightly down in front of the valance, while the other extends below the bottom of the valance and then slightly up in front of the valance.
This type of arrangement suffers from a number of drawbacks. For one, the upper and lower extensions typically must have shapes which correspond closely to the upper and lower surfaces of the valance in order to provide a solid grip. This means that different valance designs may require different mounting brackets.
Another problem with such existing mounting brackets is that portions of the upper and lower extensions are visible from the front of the valance when the valance is mounted. This tends to detract from the aesthetic appearance of the valance.
There is another variable among venetian blinds and other window coverings which make some existing valance clips inappropriate in certain environments. In particular, with certain blinds, it is desirable for the valance to be as close to being flush with the headrail as possible. However, with certain blinds that have a wand-like tilt rod extending from the front of the headrail, it is necessary and desirable to position the valance at some distance away from and in front of the headrail. A conventional valance clip which is designed to mount the valance flush to the headrail cannot be used in that circumstance, requiring a different mounting bracket.
One solution to this particular problem is illustrated in Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,856, which discloses an adjustable valance suspension bracket used in connection with a vertical blind headrail which has a downward facing opening. It employs a xe2x80x9cbasexe2x80x9d which is custom designed to be mounted to the top of the headrail at horizontally oriented recesses. A xe2x80x9cclipxe2x80x9d is mounted on the xe2x80x9cbasexe2x80x9d which has a T-shaped connecting means, and which can be adjustably connected to the base in order to vary the distance between the valance and the headrail.
The aforesaid Anderson ""856 patent, however, illustrates another problem that has existed with some mounting brackets: they cannot be used to adjust the vertical positioning of the valance. In particular, there are sometimes installation circumstances which may require that a valance be raised to a slightly higher elevation. At least three solutions to that problem have evolved, none of which has proven completely satisfactory.
One solution is to provide the hook which is draped over the upper lip of the front wall of the headrail with two stops, one for installing the valance in a relatively low position and the other for installing the valance in a relatively high position. These two positions will typically differ by about a half-inch, which means that, in some circumstances, the installer may still be faced with the choice of having the valance either slightly too high or slightly too low, but not at the desired height.
Another approach, which provides greater flexibility and precision in selecting the height of the valance, involves the use of VELCRO(copyright) (or similar) hook-and-loop fastening material. In such schemes, a mounting bracket will be provided having an arm to hook over the upper lip of the front wall of the headrail, and a flat front surface upon which is mounted, e.g., a patch of the xe2x80x9cloopxe2x80x9d portion of the VELCRO(copyright) fastener. A patch of the xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d portion of the VELCRO(copyright) is then mounted on the rear flat surface of the valance.
While this type of arrangement allows for small adjustments in the vertical positioning of the valance, it is not without drawbacks. For one, it can be expensive to provide both mounting brackets and valance material with patches the VELCRO(copyright) or similar material mounted thereon. If the VELCRO(copyright) is to be placed on the valance at the time of installation, this will add to the time required for installation and will create opportunities for errors, such as placing the VELCRO(copyright) at an inappropriate location on the rear of the valance. On the other hand, if VELCRO(copyright) is to be mounted on stock lengths of valance material, a judgment must be made as to the spacing of the VELCRO(copyright) patches and, in some instances, certain patches of VELCRO(copyright) will not be used, causing unnecessary cost and waste.
A third attempted solution to this problem involves the use of two components, a piece of extruded PVC channel and a plastic mounting clip. The PVC channel has a flat front surface adapted to be mounted flush with the flat rear surface of a valance, and a pair of prongs extending rearwardly. The mounting clip component has an arm adapted to be hooked onto the top of a headrail, and another pair of arms on the opposite side adapted to snap onto the prongs of the PVC channel. This scheme has the advantage of using common parts to attach a number of different valance profiles. However, the need to attach the PVC channel to the valance creates problems of labor, cost and waste. The PVC channel is typically attached to the rear of the valance with double-sided tape or some other adhesive vehicle, which could become unglued with the passage of time, elevated temperatures and other conditions. While it is sometimes possible to attach the PVC channel with staples, where the valance is a relatively thin piece of wood, staples may crack the valance, causing waste. Another problem associated with this scheme is that it requires accurate placement of the PVC channel at the time the PVC channel is mounted to the valance, since once the mounting is done, there is no further adjustability of the valance with respect to the headrail.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a system and a method for mounting valances on headrails which is simple and inexpensive, and which provides for an installation scheme in which the aesthetic appearance of the valance is not marred by visible portions of mounting brackets. In addition, such a system and method should provide maximum flexibility so as to allow the valance to be as close to infinitely adjustable in the vertical direction as possible. In addition, such a system should also accommodate different types of installations in which the valance should either be flush with the headrail, or spaced away from the headrail to accommodate a wand-type tilt rod.
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs.
One aspect of the present invention provides a mounting bracket for mounting a valance to a window covering headrail of the type which has at least a vertically oriented front wall with an upper end. The mounting bracket comprises a clip having an arm adapted to hook onto the upper end of the front wall of a headrail. A slide is adjustably mounted to the clip to allow for relative vertical movement between the clip and the slide. An extension projecting from the slide is adapted to be attached to the valance.
In one preferred embodiment, the extension is a cam which is adapted to lockingly engage in a groove formed in a valance. In another preferred embodiment, the slide includes a groove, and the clip includes a tongue constructed and arranged to enter and slidably and adjustably move within the groove. As a further feature of the invention, either the groove or the tongue has a plurality of spaced parallel ridges, while the other member has a raised rib parallel to and facing the ridges, with the rib being adapted to snap into position between two ridges to releasably fix the relative vertical movement of the clip and the slide.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the clip has a clip body from which the arm extends, and the spacing between the arm and the clip body allows a valance to be mounted substantially flush with the headrail. In another preferred embodiment, the spacing between the arm and the clip body allows the valance to be mounted a distance from the headrail which is sufficient to accommodate a tilt wand projecting from the headrail. In yet another preferred embodiment, one portion of the tongue is adapted to be broken off from the remainder of the tongue to shorten the tongue.
Another aspect of the present invention comprises a valance and mounting bracket assembly. The valance has a front surface and a rear surface, and a longitudinally extending groove on the rear surface. The groove has a first height at the rear surface and a second height at a position inward of the rear surface which is greater than the first height. The mounting bracket of the assembly has an arm adapted to be mounted on a window covering headrail, and a cam mounted on the mounting bracket. The cam has at least a maximum diameter and a smaller minimum diameter, with the minimum diameter being smaller than the first groove height, and the maximum diameter being greater than the first groove height and less than or substantially equal to the second groove height. The cam can be inserted transversely into the groove and then rotated with respect to the valance to form a tight fit between the mounting bracket and the valance.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method of mounting a valance on a headrail. The method includes providing a headrail having a vertically oriented front wall with an upper end, a valance and a mounting bracket having a clip which includes an arm and having a separate slide adjustably mountable to the clip for relative movement therewith. The slide has an extension projecting therefrom. The method further includes the steps of attaching the extension to the valance, suspending the arm of the clip downwardly over the upper end of the front wall of a headrail, and slidably connecting the clip to the slide. In a preferred embodiment, the method also comprises the step of adjusting the relative positions of the clip and the slide to adjust the height of the valance.
In another preferred embodiment of the method aspect of the present invention, the valance has a front surface, a rear surface and a longitudinally extending groove on the rear surface. The groove has a first height at the rear surface and a second height at a position inward of the surface, with the second height being greater than the first height. The extension comprises a cam having at least a maximum diameter and a smaller minimum diameter, with the cam minimum diameter being smaller than the first groove height and the cam maximum diameter being greater than the first groove height and less than or substantially equal to the second groove height. The attaching step comprises inserting the cam transversely into the groove and then rotating the cam with respect to the valance to form a tight fit between the mounting bracket and the valance.
In yet another preferred embodiment, one of the clip and slide includes a tongue, the other includes a groove, with the tongue and groove providing the aforesaid relative movement, with the method further comprises the step of breaking off one end of the tongue to shorten its length.
Still another aspect of the present invention provides a mounting bracket for mounting a valance to a window covering headrail which comprises a first slide having an extension projecting therefrom and adapted to be attached to a valance. A second slide has at least one hook adapted to be connected to a headrail. An intermediate member has a first portion adjustably mounted to the first slide to allow for relative vertical movement between the first portion and the first slide. The intermediate member also comprises a second portion adjustably mounted to the second slide for relative horizontal movement between the second portion and the second slide.
Yet a further aspect of the present invention provides a method of mounting a valance on a headrail which includes a step of providing a headrail, a valance and a mounting bracket of the type previously described. The method further includes the step of attaching the extension of the first slide to the valance, attaching the hook of the second slide to the headrail, slidably connecting the first portion of the intermediate member to the first slide, and slidably connecting the second portion of the intermediate member to the second slide.
The present invention also resides in the various features set forth herein and combinations thereof.